Bagnoregio (again) and Assisi

Hello Family and Friends!
When I opened the shutters today, I looked out into mist covering the green, rolling hills. I tried to take a few photographs, but just couldn't capture this amazing beauty.
We went down for breakfast and Father Dino greeted us with a kind smile. Since breakfast is just not a lingering affair at Villa Mercede, we soon left to find the Lavatintostir (laundry service), where we could get a few bags of laundry done for four euro a kilogram, (which is better then sitting in a laundromat for two hours when you are in Orvieto).
We walked along to the Cantina Forest Caffe, but while on the way, we saw that the doors to the Orvieto Duomo were open, so we went in to have a look at (words fail me), yet another spectacular display of ancient glory. As we approached the caffe, we could hear male voices singing inside. (You just don't see this at home.) When they finished their song, they patted each other on the back, and went off to start the day. We were seated outside, and our waiter brought us espresso and croissants. He wore a T-shirt that said "El Rono of Havanna, Cuba". When you get up early, like we like to do, you can capture a few moments of Italian life before the town really wakes up and the tourists start crashing into the shops.
While we sat we observed a lady wheel a stroller by with a little, dark haired boy. Two ladies approached and bent over to give him pats and kisses.
Then a lone calico cat sauntered by and a man called out "Caio," to the kitty.
But alas, a group of teens walked by and someone shouted, "Hey! We have to find that toy shop! To which another replied, "Yeah, I wonder where it is!"
As we sat at the caffe, planning our day, we decided to drive back to Civita Di Bagnoregio and do the hike to the village. We wanted to do this yesterday, but it was late when we arrived, so we could only take pictures from a distance. We reminded each other that sometimes opportunities like this only cross your path once, so we decided to go for it. We left the caffe, walked back to Villa Mercede, jumped into our little Fiat and off we went.
I know I've said there have been a lot of highlights so far, but honestly this village rates right at the top, and when we reached the top of Bagnoregio, this village built high up in the rock, we came around a corner to an elderly man playing a violin. We were surprised by the many delightful, tiny trattorias which presented themselves from the most unlikely ancient corners and doorways, as well as the glorious views from this elevation! I turned into a narrow walk way and saw a sign which said Giuseppe's Workshop from the story of Pinnocchio. This workshop was filled with an incredible and interesting display of ancient tools all tacked up on the walls. There was a sign that this little place was the actual workshop that had been used in an Italian television production of Pinnocchio.
A person could not leave a place like this without stopping at "La Piazzetta" for cold, sparkling Prosecco, in the brilliant sunlight on a cobblestone patio. And I know it's hard to believe, but there were church bells clanging in the background.
I know we said we were going to hang around Orvieto today, but when Ron asked, "Do you want to go to Assisi?" I said "Sure!" Again - an opportunity that might come along just this once...and since he is such a great navigator (I've always said he had built-in GPS), and I know all the places to go - we actually make a great team.
It was a beautiful drive to Assissi through lush areas of vineyards, and there was the most brilliant field of purple, yellow flowers and red poppies. I thought of a painting by Claude Monet when I saw this.
In about an hour, we arrived in Assisi, which is also known as 'The City of Peace', and you could see the ancient town high up on the hill, and the modern city below. When we got there, we found ancient streets lined with shops, banks, restaurants. Tourists abounded carrying i-pads and snapping photos. Many of the shops were full of religious art, such as rosaries, robes, crucifixes, statues of Mary holding Baby Jesus, as well as pictures of the Pope.
If you've got lots of energy, you can visit about 12 cathedrals on the Franciscan Routes. We saw a few, but then headed towards the very famous one -the Basilica di S. Francesco or the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. In case anyone wonders, who St. Francis of Assisi is - he's the saint who is famous for the prayer, "Lord, Make Me An Instrument of Your Peace..." It is fascinating to read about his life, and hard to believe he's been dead since 1226 or so.
When we got back to Orvieto, we decided to try a restaurant called Trattoria La Mezza Luna, which was rated #4 on Trip Advisor. They had their Spaghetti Alla Carbonara highlighted on the menu, since that's what they're famous for. (We find that places that get great reviews from Trip Advisor, often don't have to try as hard anymore, because the people will come anyway). Ron tried the carbonara, but didn't want the spaghetti pasta, he wanted 'penne pasta carbonara' (which was frowned upon, and really doesn't exist). Ron said it tasted 'okay'. I tried fettuccine ai fungi porcini, (again). It was okay. What makes the difference sometimes, is a waiter who will make eye contact with you when you come in, and take a slight bit of interest in you.
So, tomorrow, after our 10:00 am cooking class/dinner/wine tour, we'll be zipping along in the Fiat to San Casciano, (a town outside of Florence)....